Schoharie County taxes may be going down for next year, but that did not stop a supervisor and a resident from blasting proposed salary increases for department heads at a public hearing on the $71.7 million spending plan Wednesday evening.
According to the proposed budget, which is now in the hands of the finance committee, tax rates will be going down for 14 of the 16 towns of the county. Overall, the average county-wide tax rate may drop by 1.5 percent.
Despite the potential decrease, Middleburgh Supervisor Jim Buzon and Summit resident Earl Gaskill implored supervisors not to include large pay hikes for department heads in the 2014 spending plan.
County employees, according to Mr. Buzon, will be getting pay hikes of 1.5 percent while several department heads will see pay hikes of 10 to more than 20 percent.
He noted that the county clerk, who will get a salary of $62,938 this year, asked for $66,084, but budget officer Bill Cherry has proposed a salary of $79.580 for 2013, a hike of 26.4 percent.
"If you ask me, there's something wrong here," Mr. Buzon told supervisors.
The country, and especially the region, is still in a recession, Mr. Gaskill said at the public hearing, which attracted three members of the public.
Most private industries and companies are still saying no to raises, he added. He also spoke against pay hikes for supervisors.
"These raises are out of line, period," he continued.
Mr. Gaskill questioned a large proposed salary increase for the personnel officer.
According to the proposed budget, the personnel officer will receive $50,754 in pay this year. There was no salary hike request, but the proposed pay for next year is $58,686, an increase of $7,932 or 15.6 percent.
"If you can justify that, I'll go home," he told supervisors.
After the release of the report into allegations of intimidation and harassment in the county workplace, supervisors earlier this month agreed to suspend the personnel officer, Cassandra Ethington, with pay, pending a public hearing for dismissal with cause.
County Treasurer and budget officer Bill Cherry and several supervisors explained the thinking behind the raises for department heads.
There is a discrepancy in the raises that union employees have been getting and the hikes given to non-union workers, such as department heads, Mr. Cherry added.
Over the past five years, according to Mr. Cherry, union employees have received raises totaling about 21 percent compared to five percent for non-union workers.
In some cases, department heads are supervising employees earning almost as much as they do.
Unless bigger raises are given to department heads there will be no closing this disparity "that will only continue to grow," Mr. Cherry said at the hearing.
The salaries for department heads in Schoharie County are "not in line with many other counties," according to Esperance Supervisor Earl VanWormer.
"I don't want to lose these people."
Members of the finance committee are "on board" with increasing the salaries for department heads, though some changes will be made, added Carlisle Supervisor Larry Bradt, who is on the finance committee.
Mr. Gaskill said he was against salary hikes for supervisors "because of performance."
Supervisors Gene Milone of Schoharie, Phil Skowfoe of Fulton and Mr. Buzon said they would not support pay hikes for supervisors.
Supervisors are expected to continue to discuss the spending plan Friday when they receive the recommendations from the finance committee.
Five supervisors were absent to Wednesday's hearing including four who lost on Election Day.
Missing the hearing were Bob Mann of Blenheim, Tom Murray of Cobleskill and Dan Singletary of Jefferson, all of whom lost re-election bids, as well as Anne Batz of Broome, who was not re-nominated for supervisor and lost in a bid to become town clerk. Tony VanGlad of Gilboa was also absent Wednesday. In addition, the Town of Wright has been without a supervisor since the death of Bill Goblet earlier in the year.